Former Indian seamer Varun Aaron believes Chennai Super Kings’ poor form has affected the entire team in the ongoing Indian Premier League
Our Bureau
Mumbai
Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) hopes of making the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 playoffs took another hit as they suffered their eighth loss of the season, going down to Punjab Kings (PBKS) by four wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Despite a much-improved batting performance, MS Dhoni felt the team fell just short of a competitive total. “I think the batting, yes it was the first time we put enough runs on the board, but I feel it was slightly short of a par score,” Dhoni said after the match, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo. “It’s demanding on the batsmen but we needed slightly more. The partnership between Curran and Brevis was fantastic. I think we need to take our catches,” he added.
CSK posted 190, largely built around a fine knock from Sam Curran, who smashed 88 off 47 balls–his highest score in the IPL. Partnering him was young Dewald Brevis, who contributed 32 off 26 balls, including two boundaries and a six. The pair added a partnership of 78 runs in the middle overs.
Speaking about Curran, Dhoni said, “I think Curran is a fighter, we all know. Unfortunately, whenever we have tried to give him a chance so far, it was a slow wicket, but today’s wicket was the best one we had at home this season.”
The CSK skipper also praised Brevis for his intent and energy, highlighting the impact he can have in the middle order.
“I think it’s momentum in the middle order and he’s a very good fielder and he has good power so he can hit good balls for boundaries. He brings energy in the field too. We needed that fresh air, someone not caught up in the spiral. He can be an asset going forward,” Dhoni added.
Former Indian seamer Varun Aaron believes Chennai Super Kings’ poor form has affected the entire team in the ongoing Indian Premier League. Aaron talked about the bowling unit and CSK bowler Pathirana’s struggles. He noted that Pathirana has been off his game, changed his action, isn’t landing yorkers, and has bowled many extras.
“I think poor form has affected the entire team, especially the bowling unit. CSK really depended on Pathirana to get them wickets at the back end and defend totals, but he’s been completely off the boil. He’s changed his action a bit, he’s not landing his yorkers, and has bowled 31 extras this tournament, that’s a lot for a frontline bowler,” Jio Star expert Varun Aaron said while speaking on Match Centre Live on JioHotstar.
He also noted CSK lacked energy with the bat in the middle overs before Brevis joined.
“With the bat, they’ve lacked impetus in the middle overs. Brevis has come in and provided a bit of high-octane energy, but before that, it was missing. They need to go back to the drawing board and evaluate what went wrong at the auction. They don’t have someone like Tristan Stubbs or Tim David to finish innings. Yes, MS Dhoni is there, but you can’t keep depending on him for 18 years,” he added.
While the Super Kings continue to face challenges on the field, former Australia captain and JioStar expert Aaron Finch weighed in on the broader picture, the presence and enduring aura of MS Dhoni, even as CSK struggle to find consistency.
Reflecting on the weight of leadership and the charm of Dhoni, Finch said on JioHotstar, “When Dhoni gave up the captaincy a few years ago, I don’t think he thought he’d have to deal with all this again. But it hasn’t gone CSK’s way this season. MS is 43, not playing much cricket, just turning up for the IPL — but every moment he’s on the field is magical.”
Despite limited game time in recent years, Dhoni remains a central figure in the CSK camp and a massive draw for fans across the globe. Finch added, “The noise when he walks out of the dressing room… when he comes out to bat… it’s unbelievable. I urge every cricket fan — if you can, you must go to a CSK game while MS Dhoni is still playing.”
